This post will walk you through fixing incoming call problems on your new Apple iPhone XR handset. Having trouble placing and receiving phone calls on your iPhone XR is usually due to network problems or signal issues. That said, problems like these can happen at any time.
Fortunately, these are the types of problems that can be remedied at home by some workarounds for as long as no hardware damage is present on any of the phone components. Feel free to refer to this context whenever you need more inputs on how to troubleshoot the problem on your new iOS device.
Before moving on to our troubleshooting, if you found this post while looking for a solution to a different problem, then drop by our iPhone XR Help Guides as we already solved some of the common issues reported by owners. There could already be articles on our site that could help you with your problem.
How to troubleshoot iPhone XR that can’t receive phone calls?
Before troubleshooting, check and ensure that your iPhone is getting strong and stable signal (at least 2 bars) from your cellular network. If you see some labels like No service, Searching, or no signal bars on the status bar, then you need to deal with signal problem first. Once the signal is restored, all associated functions including incoming calls should be back up and running again.
Also check and ensure that date and time settings on your iPhone XR are properly set. Incorrect timestamps may likewise results to some conflicts and eventually causes incoming calls to fail. You may begin to troubleshoot software problems on your iPhone XR that may have halted you from receiving incoming phone calls, if the problem persists even when all prior requisites are met. Don’t forget to place a test call after performing each method to see if the problem is fixed. Continue to the next applicable solution, if needed.
First solution: Force close Phone app then restart iPhone.
Problems like this may occur due to random glitches affecting the Phone app. If incoming calls were working perfectly fine on your device and suddenly it failed, then this could be just triggered by random app glitches or firmware crashes. To rectify the error, force closing the Phone app and restarting the phone is recommended. Here’s how it’s done:
- Go to the Home screen
- Then swipe your finger up and then pause.
- Swipe right or left to navigate through the apps preview.
- Swipe up on the Phone app preview to close the app.
Soft reset/restart your iPhone XS to clear cached files from the phone memory and refresh the system. Then try placing a call to your iPhone XR using other phones and see it that call goes through. If you still don’t receive the call, then move on to the next applicable solution.
Second solution: Toggle Airplane Mode on and off.
This old trick has been proven effective when dealing with minor issues affecting the phone’s network functions including incoming calls. It basically works by turning Airplane mode on to disable wireless radios on the phone shortly and re-enable them by turning Airplane mode off again. So it’s like giving a restart to your iPhone’s network functions. Here’s how it’s done:
- Navigate to Settings-> Airplane Mode menu.
- Then tap the Airplane mode switch to enable it.
- Soft reset/restart your iPhone XR.
- Head back to Settings-> Airplane Mode menu.
- Then toggle the switch to turn Airplane mode off again.
Don’t forget to make a test call and determine whether or not the problem is solved.
Third solution: Disable Do Not Disturb and Call Forwarding features on your iPhone XR.
Some of your iPhone features may also disrupt incoming call functions when enabled. Among the features you should check and turn off, if necessary are Do Not Disturb and Call Forwarding.
When Do Not Disturb is enabled on your iPhone XR, incoming calls are actually working but thing is that you might have missed it because you don’t hear any incoming call alerts since Do Not Disturb is muting your phone. In other words, notification alerts for calls and messages are silenced. To clear this out, turn off Do Not Disturb on your iPhone XR with these steps:
- Open Settings app from your Home screen.
- Select Do Not Disturb.
- Toggle the switch next to Do Not Disturb to turn feature off.
If Call Forwarding is enabled, calls will be routed from your iPhone to another device depending on the phone number you specified in the settings. So technically, your iPhone XR still receives the call but can only be answered through the other device. To make sure this isn’t what’s causing you this trouble, turn off Call Forwarding feature on your iPhone XR with these steps:
- Head over to Settings.
- Tap Phone.
- Select Call Forwarding.
- Then tap the switch to turn the feature off.
Restart your iPhone after making changes to these settings then place a test call to your iPhone XR using your other phone to see if incoming calls are now working.
Fourth solution: Reset network settings on your iPhone XR.
Network problems can directly affect calling services on your device. These are likely to blame of both incoming and outgoing call functions aren’t working on your iPhone XR. To deal with network problems, performing a network settings is among the recommended workarounds. Here’s how it’s done:
- Tap Settings from your Home screen.
- Select General.
- Scroll down to and then tap on Reset.
- Select Reset network settings option.
- Enter your device passcode if prompted to continue.
- Then tap the option to confirm network settings reset.
Wait for your iPhone to finish resetting network settings and then restarts by itself. After it reboots, reattempt calling and see if the problem is gone.
Fifth solution: Remove and reinstall your SIM card.
You may also not be able to receive or make phone calls when your SIM card is dislodged or worst, damaged. To rule this out, try removing the SIM card and then reinstall it on your iPhone XR. Here’s how:
- Turn your iPhone off completely.
- Insert the SIM ejector tool into the tiny hole provided on the SIM card tray.
- Gently push the ejector tool until the tray unlocks.
- Pull the tray out then remove the SIM card from the card slot.
- Examine the SIM card for any traces of liquid damage. If everything looks good, place the SIM card back into the card slot in the same position before you removed it. The gold contacts must be facing the circuit.
- Secure the card then push the SIM tray back into the phone. Make sure it’s properly locked in place.
Then turn on your iPhone, wait for it to establish network signal, then do some test calls to see if the problem is gone.
Seek more help
Contact your network service provider or carrier to escalate the problem if it persists after applying the above-given solutions. Verify and ensure that there are no temporary network outages transpiring in your place that might have affected incoming call services.
For more advanced solutions and other options, you can also reach out to the Apple Support team. This is must-do if incoming call problems started after installing new iOS update on your iPhone XR. In that case, you’re most likely dealing with a post-update problem that usually requires fix patch in a form of new iOS version. That means Apple must first be aware that such problems exist so they can make further assessments.
I hope that this how-to post has helped you one way or another. Please help us spread the word by sharing this post to your friends or people who may also have similar problems. Thanks for reading!
